Sam only nodded and then glanced at me as James stood.
“I’m going to go talk to Andrew,” James announced.
As James approached his office door, Sam stepped inside, and he closed the door softly as James left. Sam motioned for me to stand up while he walked toward me.
“Come here, Josh,” Sam said just above a whisper. He wrapped his hand around my bicep as I stood. His eyes scanned mine for a moment before he leaned in and kissed me. Our lips moved together, slowly at first and then becoming more urgent. “Mmm, we have to stop, otherwise I’m going to have a very visible erection in these scrubs. I needed to feel you,” he whispered against my lips.
“Probably a good idea. We wouldn’t want James to catch us fucking in his office,” I teased. A smile spread across his face, and then he nipped at my bottom lip.
“James is smart. He knew the door closed behind him. Come on, I’ll take you to see Andrew.”
Epilogue
Garrett
When I walkedinto the emergency room, Sam was nowhere in sight. James stood behind a counter, bent at the waist, looking at a computer monitor.
“James,” I called his name as I approached.
I glanced around the occupied bays to see if I could spot the three victims I expected to see. I saw Roz sitting beside one of the beds with her notebook out.
“Evening, Garrett,” James greeted me. “The three are in bays eight, nine, and ten. Counselors have been assigned to each and are on their way.”
“Good,” I replied.
I couldn’t help but think of Salem. I had hoped I was done finding unplugged holes to this fucking circus. Roz and I cut off another one of the octopus’ tentacles this afternoon, and I made sure all three of the victims we found were transported here. After the bust, I had to go home for a few minutes to see Salem. I needed to see her smiling face and feel her gentle touch before I had to come deal with this. She was the only one who even had a remote chance of pulling me from the Devil’s claws.
“Are any of their injuries life-threatening?” I asked James.
“Life-threatening? No. Though, they each have many injuries, and as you know—”
“Yeah. The worst are the injuries that can’t be seen.” I finished his sentence. He wasn’t telling me anything new. “How is Brandon doing?” I asked, attempting to recover from my rude behavior of interrupting him. I didn’t lack manners, but I was far from calm after seeing how these three had been living.
“Brandon is doing exceptionally well,” James said while eyeing me. I was sure he was assessing me. “Are you doing alright, Garrett?”
I sighed and nodded. I looked at the three young adults who we had found in the bowels of some other fucked-up kink house. This shit had to end.
“Garrett,” Sam said my name, and I turned on my heels to see him walking toward us.
“Hey, Sam.” I gestured in the direction of the three patients. “How are they?”
“Physically, they’re going to be okay. Lots of wear and tear, but they’re okay.”
Of course, physically they were all okay … for the most part. It’s the other shit that was like walking into a minefield. And I’ve been in a fucking minefield. James at least knows and understands how the nightmares go. I’m sure he gets woken up at all hours of the night from Brandon’s nightmares. I wonder if he feels as helpless as I do when Salem wakes up.
“Sam, I need to stop by your place tonight. That is, if you guys will be home,” I said.
“Yes, we’ll be home. What’s up?” Sam asked and glanced at James.
I pulled my phone out and scrolled for the picture I was looking for.
“I need to see if Ali can identify and confirm the man who assaulted her at Oxygen.”
I found the picture of the asshole with a bloody nose. I opened and closed my right hand as I stared at the image. I set the phone down on the counter for Sam and James to take a look. The two of them were more familiar with this son of bitch from the club. I was pretty sure this was him. I remembered feeling sick when I saw him in the security footage at Oxygen. That was when I realized there were many sick fucks feeding the octopus. I’d recognized this Shane character from many parties I had attended as an undercover agent. It repulsed me that it was this close to me and in my backyard, so to speak.
“Yeah, that’s Shane,” Sam admitted.
“That’s him. So is he finally in police custody?” James asked.
